Lessons to learn
by Tarika Nachtwind
Summary: Just another challenging day for Captain Janeway as her daughter and Miral learn an important lesson.


_Disclaimer: Again, I don't own anything, except the story, Jonna and the twins._

_AN: Thank you for reading and reviewing. I love feedback! Special thanks to my sister for proof-reading this story. Enjoy the story!_

"Didn't you take this afternoon off?", asked Commander Chakotay, XO of the starship Voyager.

"I intended to, but after this busy morning I really have to work on the reports, before they choke my desk", his wife, also known as Captain Kathryn Janeway, sighed.

"Can't they wait? You, too, need time to relax", he said in return, knowing that it was in vain.

Kathryn chuckled. "No, and you know it. They only will be more by tomorrow morning and I will chide me for not getting them done today."

"A compromise then. I'll drop by later and help you and in return you will have dinner with me on the holodeck precisely at 1900, I am sure B'Elanna or Samantha will babysit the kids. You had the holodeck booked until 2130? Otherwise I will bribe the next person to use the holodeck with my replicator rations. Do we have a deal?"

"We certainly have, young man. May I inquire as to the occasion?"

"Does a man need a special occasion to have a romantic dinner with his wife? Other than keeping her from starving herself to death or die of exhaustion? But for now I will leave you to your reports and take command of your ship." Chakotay gently kissed her and left the captain's ready room.

"Ensign Yola to Captain Janeway."

Janeway slapped her comm badge. "What is it, Ensign?", she asked the woman who was in charge of the kindergarten and so of the newest addition of the Janeway family, the twins Dallin and David.

"Ah, I am so sorry, Captain, I slipped in the mess hall and broke my foot. The doctor says I should rest for the remainder of the day. Ensign Wildman, who was watching the children during my lunch break, is still with them, but her shift is starting in a few minutes. My daughter will take care of the older kids, but she isn't comfortable with the babies. I know I am asking a lot of you, but would you mind picking the twins up?"

Captain Janeway sighed and looked at the stack of reports on her desk which had a striking resemblance to the leaning tower of Pisa. But of course she couldn't leave 6 children in the care of an eleven year old, even a very responsible one. "Of course I will. Don't worry about it and get well, soon!"

"Thank you, Captain."

When Kathryn walked out of the nursery with a child in each arm, she was almost run over by her oldest child and only daughter. "Mama!", the girl hugged her fiercely around the waist. "You know what? I was the best in math, today and we didn't get any homework. Isn't that great?"

Her mother smiled. "Yes it is, honey. I am proud of you."

"Where are you taking the twins, Mama? Are you finally done working? Could we have a pick nick?"

"I am sorry, Jonna, but I still have to work. Ensign Yola broke her foot, so I take the twins with me to the ready room. We will have a pick nick tomorrow with daddy. How does this sound?"

"Oh, great! But won't Dallin and David keep you from working? I told you that I would help to babysit them, but you never asked me to. Can I please help you? I know how to look after them, really, I do. And now is their nap time. They will be sleeping for the next three hours or so and won't be any trouble at all. Please, can I watch them, pleeeaaase?"

Kathryn gave her daughter a thoughtful look. She was only eight years old, after all. On the other hand, she had promised her to look after the twins and she believed that Jonna would do a good job. She was right, the twins would be sleeping most of the time and they liked their sister. "All right. But if something happens you call me and the doctor right away, even if you think you can handle it yourself! If you make a mistake, say you drop them or they fall, don't be scared to tell me. It is always better to know right away. Do you understand?"

The girl nodded in agreement.

"If there is red alarm, you go strait to sickbay! If you can't carry both of them at the same time, ask an adult, say uncle Neelix or the doctor, to assist you."

"Sure, Mama. I know what to do."

Kathryn thought that her instructions might scare the girl, but she was skipping happily down the corridors.

In her quarters she put the twins in their little beds. Jonna proudly sat between them a book in her hand. Just as Captain Janeway was almost out of the door, she looked back. "And you can't leave them during the whole time."

"Of course, Mama. Don't worry."

"Good", Kathryn smiled. "Thank you, JJ."

As Kathryn walked towards the bridge, she couldn't help but to worry anyway. Though she also trusted her daughter. She would ask Neelix and the doctor to check on Jonna from time to time.

Jonna, in the meantime, happily read her book, the twins were sleeping peacefully and as predicted were no trouble at all. Suddenly, the desktop in the living room beeped. She left her book on the chair and sat in front of the desktop in no time, turning it on. The face of a cheerful Talaxian filled the screen.

"Jonna, how are you?", he exclaimed, beaming at her. "I heard you are babysitting for the first time? No troubles I trust? Do you need anything, something to eat maybe? I made delicious pastries."

If Jonna had been older she might have rolled her eyes at her mother's protectiveness. Right now, however, she was just excited with her new task. "No, uncle Neelix, I am fine, I just ate an hour ago, or so. Isn't it cool, that I am allowed to babysit?"

"She is already picking up her mother's bad habits, always forgetting when they last ate, pfft", he muttered to himself. But then his face brightened again when he turned to Jonna. "It is great! Well, let me know when you need anything. Neelix, out."

The screen turned blank. Jonna returned to her adventures, the book was really exciting. It kept her hooked that much, that she barely registered the door chime 45 minutes later. She put the book away with a sigh, the dragons soon would discover the princess and she really needed to know what would happen next. A quick glance at the twins showed her that they were still asleep. Reluctantly she got up to answer the door. Who was disturbing her at this time? It was nobody less than her best friend, Miral, the nine year old daughter of Lieutenants Tom Paris and B'Elanna Torres.

"What are you up to, JJ? Since we have no homework for tomorrow, I thought we could go to the holodeck. I found a really cool program. And nobody is using it, I checked. The Captain had booked it." Miral looked questioningly at Jonna.

Jonna frowned "Mama is working right now and I can't go anywhere. I have to babysit the twins!"

"Really? Cool! Can I see them?" Miral made her way to the children's room. "Ohh, they are asleep", she said rather disappointed. "Can't you come, anyway?"

"No, Mama said I have to stay here."

"But they are asleep and won't go anywhere. I promise, we will be back in no time. Nobody will notice anything! And the program is cool. It is like the real Voyager. We can go on the bridge and engineering and anywhere!"

Jonna got caught by Miral's excitement, but still remained doubtful. "Only for a really short while?"

"Of course, come on! You will like it."

"Okay." One last glance at the sleeping twins assured her that everything would be alright. She followed her friend swiftly out of the quarters.

"Are you sure we are allowed to use this", Jonna asked awed by what she saw. They were standing in the exact replica of engineering, the warp core gleaming in magnificent blue light.

"Of course. This program is open for everyone!" Miral opened a hatch she had never seen before. "Oh, look! Phasers." She grabbed one and showed it to Jonna.

"I don't know. I think you shouldn't take it. It might be dangerous!"

"The safety protocols are on, silly! Come on, do you want to see the bridge?" She grabbed her friend's hand and they ran off.

It was thrilling for Jonna to stand where her mum was working as she wasn't really allowed on the bridge. Miral again was playing with her phaser.

"Hey I could practice shooting. I want to be a security officer!"

"I don't think that is a good idea!"

"They are holograms, it won't hurt them. I need to practice shooting at moving targets. What do you want to be when you are grown-up?"

"I want to be a cap- oh,oh" Her eyes grew big as she saw her mother approaching her.

Kathryn had been in her ready room for a while, while her worry kept her from thinking properly. Finally she used a missing report that probably was still in her quarters as an excuse to check on her children. When she entered their quarters she found the twins soundly asleep but her daughter was nowhere to be seen. Angry she asked the computer for the whereabouts of Jonna Janeway.

"Jonna Janeway is in holodeck one", was the stoic reply.

Kathryn's anger quieted down very fast, now she was only angry at herself. She should never have trusted an eight year old. She asked Neelix to look after the twins and speedily made her way to the holodeck.

Jonna stood stock still, still staring at her mother. Miral turned to see what had caught her friend's attention.

"Don't you worry! Miral to the rescue!" Miral laughed and aimed at Captain Janeway. She hit her squarely in the chest.

"Mama, nooooo!", Jonna cried and rushed to her mother's still form now lying on the floor.

"Jonna, she is just a hologram!" Miral heard the doors of the ready room open. Out came ... the Captain. The fake Captain! "Oh, no!", she whispered, "oh, no, oh ,no!"

Jonna frantically urged her mother to say something, but Kathryn did not respond. Then she remembered what to do. She hit her comm badge: "Emergency transport to sickbay. Lock on to the Captain's signal." The air shimmered blue for a moment, then the Captain's lifeless form was gone. Jonna still sat where her mother had been just a few seconds ago, tears streaming down her face.

"Oh, Jonna, I am so sorry, really, I'll never forgive myself!", Miral sobbed and hugged her friend. Supporting each other they walked out of the holodeck without even a glance at the still running program. Silently and slowly, at first, they made their way to sickbay, breaking out into a run at the same time.

Breathless they arrived in front of sickbay colliding with Chakotay who came running down as soon as the doctor had hailed him. The doors opened for the three of them. The doctor, who had been bending over the Captain, straightened when he saw the Commander enter, his eyes started to blaze, when he saw the children.

"You two, get out! I need to work and you would only be in the way." He looked into the scared faces of the girls. "I said get out!" With that he again started to work on the Captain. The girls looked at each other, faces ashen, and left sickbay.

The doctor straightened again as soon as the doors had closed behind the children. It was then that he noticed Chakotay's frightened face. He smiled. "Don't you worry, Commander, the Captain is only stunned. I will wake her now."

"Stunned? But what happened?"

"I hoped she would answer that question." The doctor pressed the hypo spray to Kathryn's neck. Thirty seconds later she opened her eyes. "Kathryn?" Chakotay rushed to her side and help her as she struggled to sit up. "Kathryn, what happened?"

Kathryn shook her head to clear out the fuzziness that was still clouding her mind. "The, the twins...Jonna was supposed to watch them, but then she wasn't there. On the holodeck...Miral shot me?" Confusion and shock were both present on her face. "Were are the girls? We need to talk to them."

"Easy, Captain!" The doctor pushed her back on the bed.

"Doctor! I was only stunned. I am fine!" Her eyes were clear now.

The doctor shook his head. "I know, but the girls don't. I will teach them not to shoot at people anymore, as their parents clearly neglected to do so!"

"Doctor, don't you think it is a bit harsh?"

"No, Captain. I have every right to prevent getting any more patients due to amok running children."

Kathryn sighed and chose to play along. She settled down on the biobed and tried to take on a painful look. Chakotay was stroking her hair and caressing her hand as he set next to the bed whispering soothing words.

The doctor led the girls in. They immediately ran to Jonna's parents. "Mama, are you okay?", Jonna sobbed. Kathryn only smiled at her.

"She will be", the doctor answered the question. "Thanks to you reacting so soon. If you had waited any longer..."

"Oh, Mama!"

"Now, go, my patient needs rest."

Chakotay nodded. "Yes, you both go to your quarters until someone gets you."

"Yes, sir!", both girl replied and sadly made their way out of sickbay.

"Well, doctor, can I go now?"

"I see no reason to keep you any longer."

Kathryn stood up and looked at the doctor. "What, no admonitions today?"

"Since you don't listen anyway, why bother telling you again?", he sighed.

Kathryn laughed. Chakotay put his arm around her shoulder and they both haded for the bridge.

Two hours later, Miral and Jonna were called to the Captain's ready room. Their faces lit up with joy as they saw the Captain up and about, but then they remembered what they did and their faces darkened again.

"Captain?" Miral asked, not daring to lift her eyes.

"Yes, Miral?", Kathryn addressed her kindly.

"Captain, I am so sorry! I never wanted to shoot you. Never, ever!" Tears welled up in her eyes.

Jonna cried as well. "Mama I am sorry, too!"

Kathryn looked at the little girls and felt her eyes get moist as well. "Oh, come here, you two! Come, and give your old Captain a hug."

Both girls immediately did as she requested. Their tears were soaking Kathryn's uniform. When they had quieted down, she asked them to sit down in front of her desk. "I know, that you realized what you did was wrong. You can't go around shooting people, not even holograms. The doctor wouldn't appreciate it, either. And as you can see, accidents might happen." She stared at them intently, willing them to look at her, her tone was very serious.

"A phaser is a weapon of defense, never meant for attacking people, not in games and not in reality! I hope you'll always remember that! You will not touch a weapon again, unless one of the senior officers will tell you to. If you wish to learn how to shoot, ask me and Tuvok again in 6 years or so. Now as for punishment: Both of you will come to see me in my ready room right after school and after you ate lunch everyday for the next month. I will assign you to either help the doctor or Neelix or do something equally useful. You will work until dinnertime. Your homework you will do afterwards, though I might make an exception if you have too much to do for school. I don't want your punishment to interfere with your studies. Anyway, you have to make up for the hours you missed due to completing your homework at the end of the month."

When Captain Janeway had finished, she noticed Mirals tight lips and clenched jaw. "You don't agree to the conditions, Ms Paris?"

"I think the punishment is fair, Captain, but...", Miral hesitated. "Permission to speak freely, Captain?"

"Permission granted." Kathryn's eyes took on an amused look.

"I think the punishment is fair for me, Captain. It was I who ran the program without permission, it was I who took the phaser and shot you. It was I who asked Jonna to join me. She just came along, she didn't do anything bad. I persuaded her to come."

"Thank you for telling me." The Captain's voice was kind but firm. "Nevertheless, it will not change the punishment for her. I don't recall Jonna to say anything in her defense ."

"Come on, Jonna, tell her!"

"I accept the punishment, Captain!", was Jonna's only response.

"Very well, you may go now, but I will tell your parents about the incident."

The girls nodded meekly and left the room.

Once they were walking down the corridors, Miral broke the silence that had settled around them. "Why didn't you tell your mum, that you didn't do anything? It was my fault, after all."

"Oh, no, it was as much my fault as it was yours. I almost begged Mama that I can watch the twins and what did I do, I left them not one hour in my duty. I could have told you no, but I didn't. Again, on the holodeck I could have told you not to run this program as it was clearly not designed to be used by kids. Then when you picked up the phaser, I could have prevented you from taking it. I should have prevented you from using it. I knew it was wrong, but I didn't."

"I still don't get it."

"I think we were punished for different things, you for shooting an officer and I for neglecting my responsibility."

"But you are one year younger than me. If somebody was punished for not being responsible, it would have to be me!"

"Mama knows that I want to be a captain one day. She is just trying to teach me what it takes to be one", Jonna answered shrugging her shoulders.

"You know, you can be glad to have her for your mother."

"I know, but your parents aren't that bad either."

"Oh boy, speaking of parents, I think the Captain's was not the only punishment I will get today. But I guess I deserve it. You are lucky, your mum won't do anything more."

"Oh, I don't know about that. We were speaking to the Captain, not Mama. And as for daddy? I think he is really mad. He was scared, you know." Her voice dropped to a whisper. "I was scared, too." Tears threatened to fall again.

Her friend hugged her fiercely. "I was scared, too!"

Later that evening Tom Paris and B'Elanna Torres entered their quarters, after a short meeting with their Captain, finding their oldest daughter curled up on the couch. B'Elanna's eyes were blazing with anger. "Child, is it true, that you attacked a crewman, today?"

"Yes, mommy." The reply was barely audible.

Her mother was fuming, but before she could say anything else, her husband laid a hand on her shoulders, keeping her quiet. "Did you apologize to him?"

"Yes", she nodded.

"Good. Since the Captain didn't tell us who it was, we couldn't apologize for our daughter's bad behavior."

What? The Captain hadn't told them the whole story? Within these few moments Miral's awe for her best friend's mother multiplied. She was lost in thought. Yes, one day she would be a security officer, defending Voyager's captain, be it Captain Janeway or her daughter, with her life. That she promised herself.

"...you will not use the holodeck for two months and we have to give permission to every program you run, is that understood?"

"Yes." Miral looked up. "Mommy, daddy? I am really sorry, I will never be so foolish again, I promise!", she sobbed.

"Oh, come here you!" Her dad ruffled her hair as she was pulled in a family hug.

As soon as Kathryn entered her quarters Jonna came running and hugged her mother, clinging on her as for dear life. "Mama, Mama, I so sorry, so sorry!", she cried and again Kathryn's uniform was soaked with children's tears. She picked up her daughter and carried her to the couch in the living room. Chakotay, who had been in the bathroom joined them a few minutes later. Both were comforting their child until the tears subsided. "Mama, would you ever trust me again? Can I ever watch the babies again?"

"Mhh, tell you what. I still have a huge pile of reports to read and", she ignored the warning her husbands eyes were shooting at her, "I'd like to read them somewhere else. The beach perhaps? You could come with me tomorrow and watch the twins while I get my work done."

Wet kisses on her cheeks told her that she had done the right thing. "Yes, Mama, oh thank you!"

"How about anything to eat?"

"I am not hungry. Can I go to bed?"

"Sure, honey."

Jonna kissed her parents good night and left for the bathroom.

Chakotay turned to his wife, caressing her cheek. "You look tired, my love."

"Oh, I am tired, it had been a busy day..." Her famous crooked smile enlightened her face.

"I take it our romantic dinner is canceled, then. But, if you don't mind me asking, why did you punish the girls? Wouldn't the doctor's lesson stick better without any?"

"Oh, it certainly would. But they are still little children, after all. I think, they will never forget today, but I don't want them to feel guilty for the rest of their lives. After this punishment they will know, that they are forgiven. They can start afresh with a clean conscience. But why am I telling you this? You already know that."

"I do, my love. You just renewed my opinion of you that I got a long time ago."

"Oh, what may that be?", she teased.

"That you are a very wise woman", he answered seriously. Then he leaned forward to place a gentle kiss on his wife's lips.

None of the two were aware of the set of astonishingly blue eyes which were staring at the couple while their owner stood in thought digesting what she had just heard.

In the middle of the night, Kathryn awoke to strange noises. When she opened her eyes she saw Jonna standing next to her bed trying hard to suppress the violent sobs that were shaking her body. "JJ, honey, what is wrong?"

"Mama, I don't want you to die! I...I saw you lying there, there was a lot of blood and...and daddy was crying and...and I asked you to get up but...but you didn't move at all...I don't want you to die!"

"Honey, I am fine. I am not dying."

"But you could, everybody could kill you. If some aliens hate you, they could kill you and I couldn't prevent it!"

"Shh...look at me, I am old."

"You are not old, Mama!"

Kathryn chuckled. "Well, I am pretty old. Anyway, most of my life I have served on starships. I was in danger all the time, but I am still alive, am I not? Doesn't that increase the possibility that I will still live for a long time?"

"I don't know. I guess so."

"Now come, you can sleep here today, if you want to."

Her daughter snuggled close to her and soon Jonna's even breathing told her that she was asleep. Captain Janeway lay awake for awhile, thinking about the day. She had wished that she might keep the knowledge of the dangers of their journey from her daughter as long as possible. She laid her hand on Jonna's beautiful black hair and sighed. She promised herself, that now she would try even harder to get them home safely, her crew and her children.


End file.
